Last Saturday, since the day was lovely at Mt. Rainier, I drove down to do a little cross country skiing, and to take a few pictures. The day was mostly sunny, with enough clouds to make the pictures more interesting.
The sliding area was open and uncrowded. That surprised me because the conditions were excellent, about as good as they get. (The sliding area may close as soon as the middle of March, depending, I hope, on snow conditions.) We don't get many weekend days like last Saturday, and I would have expected more parents to take advantage of one that good. (Tomorrow, if the weather forecasters are right, the conditions on Rainier will be lousy.)
Saturday was relatively warm, probably in the low forties. Most of you would have been comfortable wearing a light jacket, hat, and gloves. And I saw a number of people who were wearing less, and appeared to be enjoying the day.
Cross posted at Jim Miller on Politics.
(What I did Saturday is what I advise everyone to do, if they can. When I decided to go, I used the "now" cast, rather than a forecast. On Saturday morning, I checked the current conditions, especially the views through the four web cams. (The east and west web cams don't show you much of the view, but they do let you see how full the parking lot is, and give you one look at the road conditions. The road up was mostly bare, though it was wet in places. Parts of it are in need of repair, and there is one short stretch where only a single lane is open. Mt. Rainier would be a good place to spend some stimulus money this spring or summer.)
In other words, decide whether to go at the last minute — if possible.
In summer and late spring, I advise visitors to get there early in the day, by, say, 9 in the morning. That way you miss the worst of the traffic, and you usually get much better conditions for hiking and photography. In winter, you may still want to go early, but, if it is below freezing, you will probably want to wait until any ice patches on the roads are gone.
The new Jackson visitor's center is open on weekends and holidays, but incomplete. You can buy cold sandwiches and hot coffee there, but at present no hot meals. So far, there are fewer exhibits than in the old building, but that may change this summer.
And the snow conditions for cross country skiing last Saturday? Excellent.)
Posted by Jim Miller at February 27, 2009 01:40 PM | Email This